Sexy Lexi's Road to The Makeover

Update On Sexy Lexi!

2008-11-23T08:47:00.002-06:00

Lexi is doing great! She's definatley fat & happy! I went & got a halter on her the other day (haven't in a long time, been busy) & she remembered EVERYTHING! Even bowing! She's such an angel. I'm happy we ended up bringing her home. Sexy Lexi should hopefully be going to the Otter Creek Saddle Club show in May, hopefully..... So we'll keep working with her!

Small Lexi Update

2008-10-30T13:39:00.002-05:00

Lexi is doing so good at home. She is spoiled rotten. She's put on a bit of weight and gotten a good winter coat. Lexers is still sweet as can be. For example, I was working with our little colt today & she got jealous & had to come over. She just rested her head against my side until I pet her. I love my little Sexy Lexi. I'll have to get some pictures of her....

Lexi Update!

2008-10-07T20:34:00.003-05:00

Lexi has been doing GREAT! I'm SOOOOO glad we brought her home! SO since there's still been a lot of views since it's been over, I decided to keep blogging her progress. She is out with the other horses now, & still being worked with. She's been doing WONDERFUL with her bowing! She'll walk over the tarp with NO hesitation, and do anything I want her to. She even comes whens she's called in the back of the pasture with her buddy, Casper. I'll keep ya'll updated with her, even though Texas is done & over with!

The Auction

2008-09-21T21:49:00.003-05:00

So the auction.... It didn't go very well. A ton of yearlings didn't get adopted. But Lexi is going to be a lot closer to me than I expected because she is coming HOME!!!!! I finally convinced my mom to let us keep her since no one adopted her. I'm so happy she's not going anywhere!! Ok we're on our way home, so that's all I'll say for now.....

The Results are in.......

2008-09-20T08:41:00.005-05:00

Ok so we competed yesterday! She was doing great in the warm-up, and practicing the night before. While we were waiting to go in the warm-up arena, she laid down & went to sleep. It took A LOT longer than expected because some contestants couldn't figure out that a) you have to wait your turn b) GET TO THE ARENA BEFORE YOUR TURN IS THERE!!! Lexi was still ok, I didn't like the body conditioning judge, he was grouchy, but that's a different story. Of course she's getting a tooth in, & she doesn't like guys. So anyway, she was scared to death when we got in there. She walked over the poles fine, then wouldn't jog over the others. The judges were very nice & tried to help get her to jog, (she did eventually), then she did ok @ backing up. The 270 degree turn was BAD. We weren't set up right to do it..... She didn't jog very nicely around the cones, & spooked at the jump I had taken her over a million times before. She picked up her feet GREAT! She stood ground tied for me, too, she I got a good score on that. She walked right into the trailer, no problem. So, she was just being grouchy. Hopefully she'll find a good home today. We're heading out here in a little bit to go to the auction!

Made It To Texas!!!!

2008-09-18T07:42:00.004-05:00

OK, we finally made it to Texas yesterday around 1:30! Finally! Lexi unloaded fine, and was a lot better behaved then I expected! Of course, being the dork she is, the 2 things she was scared of was a fire hydrant and a trash can that we had walked by a few times already. She's a dork. She HATES our friend, Ted! She freaks any time she sees him! It's weird. But we took her through the course yesterday during practice time, she did like 50x better than I thought she would! She was perfect. She's an angel. When we took her in a different arena, she of course had to roll....

Our stall:

Final Day!

2008-09-15T18:20:00.002-05:00

Well, it's the last day at home for Lexi! Yep, we leave tomorrow around 8:00 (central time!).We're going to stay in Prior, OK, with family friends. So, that's nice. Lex got a small "bath" (just her legs, too cold for a full 1!), and brushed up, etc. Soo I think we're about ready to head off! I'm so excited! But, really nervous! Lexi is an angel though, the only thing I'm worried about is her finding a good home! Wish us luck! We've got PLENTY of stuff for her stall, it'll be AWESOME! I'll take pictures there, and update when we get there. Hopefully we do good!!!! :-)

Final Week!!!

2008-09-08T20:27:00.004-05:00

Well, in 1 week (and 1 day!) we leave to go to Texas!!!! HURRAY! We've taken Sexy Lexi to the local arena a few more times, and she'll jog, back up, stand still while picking up all 4 feet confidently now! To think, a few weeks ago, we were doubtful we could even lead her by now! We took her to the vet today to get her health certificate & coggins. We'll have her coggins results by Wednesday. We did have the farrier out Saturday, but Lexi didn't get done. The farrier could pick up her feet, but couldn't hold it between his legs to trim her. DANG! SO CLOSE!!!! He said we probably won't NEED to have her done, but I think we'll try to get someone who specializes in mustangs to do it. I'll get new pictures here soon, I promise! So our show is Sunday, (local), then we leave next Tuesday......SO nervous!!!

Fly Masks & Trailering

2008-08-31T21:32:00.002-05:00

Well, lately we've been doing A LOT of trailering! She's really good with it though! Lexi will just hop on in! We're going to get her a show sheet, so she'll stay nice & clean on the way down, etc. We have to find one first! We figure she'd wear about a 56". **hint hint** We did do the whole put on the fly mask for the first time yesterday, though! She was a little nervous, but it was ok. I got pictures, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to upload them, sorry. We figured out we'll be leaving on the 16, then get there the 17 around noonish, or later. We'll sleep in Oklahoma. Of course there will be lots of stopping on the way, and she'll be loose so she can move or lay down or whatever. All in all, we've done pretty good. We need LOTS of work on trotting though! Gotta plan my freestyle performance, too.....Pictures to come tomorrow!!!

Picture Update!

2008-08-28T16:17:00.002-05:00

No real updates, just lots of pictures! (sorry for the poor quality!) We got Lexi a feather boa the same colors as her halter! Doesn't she look FABULOUS?!?!

This was the 1st time she's seen a lunge line in her life, isn't she ferocoius?!:

After her first bath:

Late Posting...Pictures coming soon....

2008-08-26T21:26:00.002-05:00

Lexi has been doing quite well. I haven't posted lately, been to busy with her! Last night we took her on her 1ST trip away from the house. We loaded Dakotah (old as dirt horse) and Lexi went right in! So off we went! We got there (about 5 miles away), and unloaded, she was PERFECT! I can't say enough how smart this horse is!! She is great! Anyway, I can now pick up all 4 feet, brush her all over, and bathe her! She's awesome. Let's see, she is super easy to take in/out of her stall, lunge whatever! I just hope someone will see how good she is & take her home! Pictures will come soon, just not now!

Stalling!! dun, dun, duuuunnnn!!!! (not)

2008-08-21T19:46:00.000-05:00

Today we did our normal stuff, then we went into the barn for the 1st time! She was a little scared of the radio, but got over it pretty quick. So we tied up in the barn, she met Jack Pot (donkey) through the stall door. She was VERY good. Then we went in the stall.... She was OK with it, not thrilled, but OK. So we went out. We played in the hose a little, we got her all sprayed down except for her butt (she hated it on her butt!!!). She was very patient though. All in all we did great!!

Donate Today!

2008-08-19T16:35:00.004-05:00

Ok we opened a donate thingy on fundable.com! This is for our trip to Texas. It will cost A LOT to get to Texas from Illinois with gas prices these days! Plus, we have to get a hotel, etc. The hotel alone will cost around $300. We get $200 for her care from MHF, but everyone knows how high hay prices are this year! So that doesn't even begin to cover everything. PLEASE donate today! If you'd like to donate, click here.

Donate now!

Thanks!

Loads of Progress!

2008-08-18T20:32:00.000-05:00

Sexy Lexi is doing SOO good! First, I lunged her. After we got a good start I decided to put some PVC pipe down for her to jog over. She did that no problem. Then came the tarp....Eventually (I didn't push her at all.) she went over it! By the time she was done, she was going over no problem! Later I even picked up her front feet! She didn't even care! I did it a few times, she could care less. She'll be a GREAT horse. We led her out and about in the yard, by herself. She was an angel. Then, we turned on the water. At first, she was little nervous. But, she stuck her nose in it! She LOVED it! She kept playing in it. I wish we got some pictures, but we didn't. She took it all in stride, very well. We went over to the trailer, and my mom opened & closed the door a bit (ours is steel & noisy). Then we went to see it. She was fine! We didn't push her to get in, just see it. So that was it for the night! Here's a pic. notice her new halter!

We're Outta Here!

2008-08-17T09:49:00.000-05:00

Ok, so not really. BUT, we did get out of the pens! We went in the yard! We took Lexi & our 25 y/o AQHA mare, Dakotah, out into the yard, across the rocky driveway, and over to the concrete pad! Then, we went over it! She was very hesitant at first, but she went over it fine! Of course we took everything in stride, not just all at once! But overall we did quite well. Really good for her 1st time out. I think we're going to take her to our local arena sometime. I NEED TO FIND A LOCAL SHOW!!!!! Please, if you know of one in the Springfield, IL area, leave a comment! But of course I can't work with Lexi as much starting this week because we start stupid school tomorrow! :( Ick. Ok that's all for now.....

Tied & Good!

2008-08-15T16:20:00.000-05:00

I worked on tying a lot with Lexi today. She does it like a pro! I can tie her & she'll stand perfectly! She even let me clip her whiskers & give her a bridle path! Well, somewhat of a bridal path. I just used scissors... But she acted like she'd been doing it for ever! She's SOOO smart! She'll be a GREAT horse! Hopefully someone will figure that out when we run her through the auction......Got some pictures! Sorry, just with my cell, so not very good....Oh ya, click on em to see the full picture!

Leading, Tying, & More!!! Lots of Pics!

2008-08-13T20:56:00.000-05:00

We've taken Lexi out of her pens a few times now. She does REALLY good! So far, she could care less. Unfortunately the Otter Creek Saddle Club show set for Sunday has been cancelled. GRR! Oh well. I guess we'll try to find another local show! If you know of one around the Springfield, IL area, leave a comment! Anyway, Lexi is really trusting of me. I love her! I tied her today while I moved hay through her pen & into another, etc and she didn't even move! She's going to be a great horse for someone! We'll probably have the vet out pretty quick to get her health papers done, etc. And her feet! UGH! I've been so busy with sheep shows, other horses, etc. But she does SOOO good and she's really smart. If she wasn't so good, I don't think I'd be in this competition anymore. I can rub all up & down her front legs, around her butt, everywhere! With other people she's not soo good yet, but she's not scared to death. We're working on that. Ok, onto the pictures!!

LOTS OF PROGRESS!

2008-08-10T21:12:00.000-05:00

Lexi made lots of progress today/this weekend! We worked on leading quite a bit, and she's pretty much got it down pat! Now she let's me brush her WHOLE body, except the lower parts of her legs. I can use pretty much any brush, she doesn't care. She'll follow me around her pen, it's so cute! She's such a sweet hart. I'll miss her a ton when she's gone, but really I know we don't have enough time to keep up with her future training. So anyway, we can lead her into the round pen, and all around it. Today, we even went OUTSIDE! YES! HURRAY! We got quite a bit accomplished today. Usually she ONLY trusts me, no one else. Well, while I was holding her, my mom was able to come up and pet her down her neck & back! GOOD LEXI! Ok, I'll put pictures up tomorrow, it's late.....

OOPS!

2008-08-06T15:08:00.001-05:00

Almost forgot, if the video doesn't work, you can see it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3bR0frVk8Y
Ok it works! It should work down in the other post too.

More Working for Lexi! (fixed video)

2008-08-06T14:56:00.000-05:00

So today I thought, "why not introduce her to brushes, etc.?" Soooo I got the softest, (probably oldest) brush we had, rubbed on Cappichino (previously adopted mustang gelding), then let her sniff it, bite it, pick it up, whatever she wanted. Then, I picked up her drag line, and let her sniff it in my hand. Well that was fine. So I started to brush her face. That was ok at first. Then she got a little nervous, so I backed off. She came back up to me, I did the same thing, then started down her neck. Well, that was great, so I went on to her back. She LOVED it! So I got most of the dirt off one side at least. The other side she's not sure about, but getting better. I'd like to get her to the show grounds before we show. Hopefully we will. If your interested in seeing her at the show, it's in Palmyra, IL and you can get details from the show, etc @ www.ottercreeksaddleclub.com . Anyway, I thought I'd try flyspray as well, since she was so good. That didn't go as well, but a lot better than I thought. She does better than my miniature gelding! lol. All she did really was back up. Which is ok with me, she's not used to it. Again, I backed off & am just taking it slow (well as slow as I can!). Then onto lunging! Just so everyone knows, I took her drag rope off to lunge her! I'm just not sure if I'll be able to get it back on.....I took a video with my phone, (it's not very good quality). So I thought I'd let you see how floaty & pretty her trot really is! We'll have to get the vet out sometime to get her health certificate & stuff. So, that's about it! Here's the video!

Leading Lessons Continue

2008-08-04T13:27:00.000-05:00

Just got in from working w/ Sexy Lexi. She's doing really good! I can now lead her from pen to pen and pet her all over. I decided to try her first tieing lesson today! Sooooo I wrapped the rope around the fence and went into the other pen. I kept an eye on her of course. She handled it like a pro! She didn't even pull or anything! I was so proud! I knew once I got her to trust me she'd be easy! Soo we'll keep working on leading and tieing. Now I gotta convince my mom to bring the trailer back over so we can work on that! Then going in a stall! I think we'll be ready for our local show by August 17. It's only like 10 miles from the house, so getting there will be easy! Then maybe we can take her home after her class.....Well, hopefully we can make it! Oh ya, I'll get my mom to take pictures tonight or tomorrow!

MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH!!!!!!

2008-07-29T10:03:00.000-05:00

We had a major breakthrough this morning!!!! I went out to feed Lexi, and dumbo got the drag lead around her neck (just hanging over it, not like strangling her!). So I went in to get it back correctly. I got that done, no problem. Then I decided to love on her a bit, you know, scratching her forehead, givin kisses, etc. Then, SHE LET ME PET HER WHOLE NECK!!!!!!! I was SOOOO excited (& still am!)!!!!! Then I moved back to her back & she LOVED it! I wasn't brave enough to go to her rear end, as my brother isn't awake yet. I went to her other side too! I'm just SO EXCITED!!! You can probably tell that though! LOL! So I fed her then ran in to update this! I'll work with her more later today and see if I can get a different lead rope on her. She got hers all gross & muddy! :-)

Leading!

2008-07-27T20:02:00.000-05:00

We had our 2cd leading session tonight! She's doing REALLY good with it! As soon as I pull the lead just a lil bit she comes to me. She does that with turns too. I think we can make it! She's caught on REALLY fast! I'm very proud of her. WE'll work more tomorrow. She still won't let me pet her past her throatlatch area though. WE'll keep working on it!

Little Update

2008-07-22T15:41:00.000-05:00

Unfortunatly, we didn't make it to the show yesterday, but there's another in August! Lexi's doing better, but still not as I'd like. However, today she let me snap a lead rope on her halter!! GO SEXY LEXI! So, that's always good. I think we'll get our bomb-proof old mare and see if I'm on her, maybe she'll be a little more confident. It's worth a shot. I'm going to let her drag the lead rope around for awhile. She's starting to understand the voice commands while free lunging. Yesterday, she stopped & I told her to trot, and off she went! I was so proud of her! If we don't get to pet atleast some of her bodt by next Saturday, I'm not sure we'll make it to Texas. :-( We'll see I guess... Only time will tell now.... Oh, by the way, I got pictures of her halter!

2008-07-10T14:23:00.001-05:00

It's HOT outside! lol. Just got back in from working with Lexi! I worked more on the rope with her, she's doin good! She REALLY wants to be friendly, just not sure if she should be or not. It's funny though, because whenever I go in her pen she follows me around and wants me to pet her! But she's still VERY leary of me getting past her throat-latch area. However, when I have the rope around her neck, I'll slightly pull on it & she'll walk right up to me! We're going to REALLY work on touching her neck, then the rest of her body. I think she feels comfortable around me, because she fell asleep while I was scratching her forehead! You'd think I could pet the rest of her, but she's just to cautious, and I don't want to ruin the training we have done. But we'll get to it! Sexy Lexi got a new halter for the big show though! It's a nice personalized halter with her name on the noseband! I'll get a picture of it & put it on here. So, we are making progress, just not as much as I'd like......

More Progress

2008-07-06T18:58:00.000-05:00

Today I was able to pet Lexi's withers! She's getting more comfortable with the rope, now she lets me flip it all around & over her & she doesn't care. We started free lunging her in order to get her in shape in our short amount of time. She's VERY good at that! She caught on in about 5 minutes! She's making LOTS of progress! I think once we get her to overcome her fear of people, she'll come around really fast! She's doing great in the time I've put into her! She's gone from rearing in the loading chute to letting us pet her! So in my opinion she's doing good!

2 Steps Forward!!

2008-07-05T12:09:00.000-05:00

Hurray for Lexi!!! Today I was just planning on getting her used to the rope being rubbed all over her, as she was scared to death of it before! But, since she got over that in about 2 seconds, I decided to take the next step, controling with the rope. You put it around her neck and hold the ends. It's a 30ft braided nylon rope (very soft). So instead of 1 step forward, we made 2!!! HURRAY for Lexi!!!!! So all in all, I'm VERY proud of her progress in about an hour's worth of work! (Sorry for poor picture quality, took w/ my cell phone!) Next step, petting all over her whole body, but I think we can do it in just a matter of time.....

More progress!

2008-07-02T13:08:00.000-05:00

Sorry, been busy with other horses and her! So Lexi is doing good, loves her forehead scratched! She is starting to come to me without the pole for me to pet her. Tonight I will be going on to the next step with her, the rope. We will attached a long cotton rope to the pole and rub it all over her then let her drag it around on her back. She is getting better, but we have a ways to go. I'm hoping to have her halter broke enough to take her to this show on July 20.
http://ottercreeksaddleclub.com/
But we have a ways to go before then! But I'm sure we can manage it!

Proud mom helps document

2008-06-24T19:04:00.000-05:00

This post is coming from Kristin, Marissa's mom. The girls are doing wonderful. Marissa works with Lexi several times a day and is making good progress. She uses a 10' bamboo pole and is now able to rub Lexi all over without her flinching. She didn't like her legs and neck until today, but she has finally given her the ok. This little filly is so funny! She loves to have her neck scratched, and shows it by curling back her lips and making the funniest face!

She loves her grain and is very curious whenever we are outside. I think if she had our undevoted attention, it would be fine with her.

Doing Better

2008-06-22T06:02:00.000-05:00

Lexi is getting a little more friendly. She get jealous when I work with the other 2 mustangs. She'll stick her head through the fence! Apparently I taste funny to her because any time I touch her nose she curls her lip up in the air! She's a sweet hart though! She's putting on a little weight too. Now she lets me pet her whole face & the tip of her neck, but doesn't like that to much!

We have Touchdown!!!

2008-06-18T15:56:00.000-05:00

Lexi let me really touch her face for the first time today! About 15 minutes of training for the day, she was letting me pet her whole face! She loves it & kept coming back for more love. All in all I'm pretty happy about the horse I got... :-)

The Beggining

2008-06-15T21:21:00.000-05:00

Well, we brought Lexi home yesterday. She's a brown (almost smutty buckskin) yearling filly. I will be taking her to the Extreme Mustang Makeover: Mission 007 in Texas in September. She's completely wild now and my job is get her trained to lead, pick up all four feet, and load in a trailer. Today was her first training day, and we got her to stand to be rubbed all over with a pole. She also will touch your hand. She's a good lookin' horse compared to some of them there. Wish us luck!